Modeling of drug release behavior of pH and temperature sensitive poly(NIPAAm-co-AAc) IPN hydrogels using response surface methodology and artificial neural networks.

An interpenetrated polymer network (IPN) poly(NIPAAm-co-AAc) hydrogel was synthesized by two polymerization method: emulsion and solution polymerization. The pH- and temperature-sensitive hydrogel was loaded by swelling with riboflavin drug, a B2 vitamin. The release of riboflavin as a function of time has been achieved under different pH and temperature environments. The determination of experimental conditions and the analysis of drug delivery results were achieved using response surface methodology (RSM). In this work, artificial neural networks (ANNs) in MATLAB were also used to model the release data. The predictions from the ANN model, which associated input variables, produced results showing good agreement with experimental data compared to the RSM results.

Industrial symbiosis: high purity recovery of metals from Waelz sintering waste by aqueous SO2 solution.

Sintering operation in the production of Zn, Cd, and Pb by Waelz process produces a powdery waste containing mainly (about 70%) ZnO, CdO, and PbO. The waste may be referred to as Waelz sintering waste (WSW). The aim of this study is to develop a process for the separation and recovery of the metals from WSW with high purities. The process is based on the dissolution of the WSW in aqueous SO2 solution. The research reported here concentrated on the effect of some important operational parameters on dissolution process. The parameters investigated and their ranges were as follows: SO(2) gas flow rate (V); 38-590 ml/min, stirring speed (W); 100-1000 rpm, reaction temperature (T); 13-60 degrees C, reaction time (t); 1-16 min, and solid-liquid ratio (S/L); 0.1-0.5 g/ml. The results showed that the dissolution rate increased with increasing W, V, and S/L and decreasing T. The best dissolution conditions were found to be V=325 ml/min, W=600 rpm, t=6 min, T=21 degrees C, and S/L=0.1g/ml. Separation of Zn from Cd involved precipitation of ZnSO3 from a mixture solution. The best pH level for the precipitation was observed to be 6.